A Weapon's Greatest Weakness
by Popsicle-Apocalypse
Summary: *T: language, gore* *Doesn't revolve around SoMa, but there are bits included.* "Sorry, Maka," He sputtered, voice wavering from exhaustion. One of her pigtails landing on his face and tickling his nose was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ****PLEASE READ! This is post-_anime_; the witches and Kishin are defeated and Soul is not a Death Scythe. I'm omitting the fact that Maka's part weapon, and also the fact that Crona seemingly moved in with them. Sorry if this creates confusion, but just think of the anime ending but without Maka's weapon abilities and Crona staying at Maka and Soul's place.**

**Warning: Well if you watch the show then you should know what to expect**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater!**

* * *

_Chapter 1: They Never Saw It Coming_

Maka Albarn skidded across the muddy grass as she was hit with yet another attack. She faintly heard her weapon partner Soul Evans call out her name in a panic as she fell to the ground, releasing him from her grasp.

"Get up, she's coming this way!" Soul exclaimed, watching in horror as Maka didn't budge. "Maka! Snap out of it!"

The meister lifted her head slightly as she looked at her enemy with fear etched on her features.

"She's too strong…" She mumbled. There was a quick flash of light before her weapon appeared in front of her in his human form. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"No, she's not. That's just what he wants you to think. You're letting the fear control you, Maka! It doesn't control you, _you_ control _it._" He craned his neck to look behind him and saw their enemy closing in fast. "Maka, get your head in the game!" He added before turning back into a scythe. His partner grabbed him by the handle and stood up shakily.

_The fear doesn't control me, _I_ control _it_…_

"Let's do this!" Soul declared.

"Right!" Maka replied with a smirk.

"Let's go, soul resonance!"

The human-looking creature had finally caught up with them and laughed at their attempt to become stronger.

"I told you it was stupid, yet you try to defeat me anyway!" She mocked, "I'm telling you one last time, girly, I know a weapon's weakness and I'm not afraid to use it!"

To this, Soul slightly winced, but kept his cool nonetheless. Maka noticed this and narrowed her eyes as her grip on Soul tightened. Her mind briefly went back to the day in Italy when he nearly died to protect her.

_Don't worry…I'm not letting you get hurt again._

"Yeah right! Weapons have no weakness!" Maka yelled. She dashed up to the monster and jumped. "Witch hunter!"

The enemy just laughed once more before swatting her off. She slammed into a nearby tree and her scythe fell to the ground.

"Maka!"

"I'm alright," She assured him, picking him up again. Their enemy walked up to them and shook her head slowly.

"You think a soul resonance will help you?" She asked, sighing.

"Shut up! Of course it will!" Maka defended, getting up quickly.

She ran up to the tall woman again and didn't even bother to aim as she furiously swung Soul around, hoping to hit at least once. Witch Hunter seemed to be helping slightly as the woman started bleeding wherever she was hit.

"I'm warning you! Nobody defeats Agnes!"

Maka ignored the threats coming from their enemy as she continued hitting.

"Hey! Pay attention to where you're hitting. You keep missing!" Soul said loudly, trying to get his meister's attention.

Suddenly, the woman grabbed Soul by the blade, stopping Maka's attack in midair. Soul's outer blade from Witch Hunter broke off into hundreds of pieces, leaving his regular form in plain sight. The shorter girl's eyes widened as she realized that her hit had been blocked. The elder smirked evilly before speaking quietly.

"I warned you."

As quick as she had blocked their attack, Agnes released a powerful burst of energy—seemingly her soul wavelength. Maka flew backwards and fell harshly to the ground, Soul landing not too far from her. She shook her head to erase the stars in her vision and looked around for her partner, only to find him lying on the ground, confused, and in human form.

"What the hell?" He muttered, staring at his hands. Maka jogged to him and kneeled next to him. "That bitch forced a transformation..." He trailed off, slightly baffled.

"What? Change back!" Maka ordered in a panicked tone.

As Soul tried to turn into weapon form, he was enveloped in an electric shock. He cried out in pain as Maka jumped back, surprised.

"I can't," He said, panting.

"Why?" Maka asked softly.

"Not sure," Soul replied, frowning.

"Soul…" She turned her attention to Agnes who was watching with entertainment. "What did you do to him!?" She yelled, standing up and keeping a firm posture. Soul stood up as well, glaring daggers at the woman standing in front of them.

"I told you. I warned you! A weapon's greatest weakness…is not being able to turn into one!"

Maka's eyes went wide once more, as Soul's eyebrows furrowed.

"Change him back to normal!" Maka demanded, voice shaking.

Agnes smiled and turned to face Soul. She looked him up and down before shrugging.

"He looks normal to me." She then sniffed the air and crossed her arms, "Even _smells_ normal."

Soul grumbled and took a step forward angrily.

"You know what she means! Why can't I change back!?"

Agnes put on a fake frown and puppy eyes.

"Is my wavelength doing that? Oh dear! I'm terribly sorry!"

Soul was about to retort but was once again electrified seemingly out of nowhere. He crumpled to the ground before breathing heavily and glaring at the enemy in front of him.

"Soul!"

"Calm down, Maka. It's nothing." He assured, voice somewhat strained.

His meister was skeptical of his response, but didn't say a word.

_No…it's not nothing! I promised myself…from that day…_

Soul stood up shakily, one arm leaning against the tree behind him for support. Once he was fully standing, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Listen, lady, you're starting to piss me off. Just take away whatever it is you did and let's continue this fight fairly." He then turned to face the girl standing next to him, "And Maka, no holding back."

Maka hesitated, but nodded slowly. Agnes sighed sadly and lifted her arms up in defense.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. That spell lasts a couple of hours."

Maka frowned. _Spell_?

"You said you did this with your wavelength," Soul pointed out, also wearing a scowl on his face.

"Yes, but how do you think my soul got so strong? With a spell of course!" She clasped her hands together and jumped up and down eagerly with a smile.

"Spell? So you're a witch, then." Maka stated, holding her ground.

Agnes moaned and crossed her arms.

"Why do all you Academy students think that any being who uses magic is a witch? Honestly it's starting to hurt my feelings!"

Soul rolled his eyes as Maka barreled on with the questions.

"What are you, then? If you're not a witch."

"Just a simple girl who knows magic, duh!"

"Wait, not just anyone can learn magic. It's near impossible for a normal human!" The meister protested, her gloves balling into fists. Soul put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but didn't say anything.

"I said I was a _girl_, I never said I was human, did I?" Agnes smiled.

Before their conversation could continue, the three of them heard screaming in the distance.

"Yahoo! You better watch out, because the show is just getting started!"

Agnes started at the little teal dot at the back of the forest, squinting her eyes.

"Is that a blue monkey?" She asked doubtfully.

Soul and Maka groaned in response, turning around to see none other than Black Star running at them, Tsubaki in ninja sword mode in the palm of his hand.

"No…a squirrel maybe?" Agnes rambled on, scratching her head, "Do they have blue squirrels, now?"

Maka sighed and took a step back, copied by her partner as Black Star reamed into Agnes, sending her flying.

"Hahaha! I told you!" He turned to face his friends, but noticed how beat up they looked.

"You guys get back; I'll take it from here! Right, Tsubaki?"

From the blade of the sword, the blue haired meister saw the reflection of his partner who nodded once.

"Of course."

"Right then, enchanted sword mode!"

Maka just smiled and shook her head before she realized something.

"Wait, Black Star! Tsubaki!"

Her cry went unnoticed by the assassin as he charged for the enemy. He swung his weapon up in the air and dragged it down, slicing a large cut on the woman's chest. Agnes frowned before putting her hand in the air as if she was being controlled by a puppet master.

"I'm warning you now, runt, if you try anything with that weapon partner of yours, she's toast."

"Ha! Keep thinking that!" He jumped up and spun around before diving down—arm fully extended and prepared to strike.

However, Agnes caught Tsubaki just as she had with Soul. Another powerful wavelength attack sent Black Star flying, although he quickly landed on his feet. He then noticed that Tsubaki wasn't with him anymore.

"Tsubaki?" He turned around to see Maka and Soul kneeling next to his partner as she slowly sat up, putting a hand to her head.

"How…?" With the help of her friends, she was hoisted up, "I didn't mean to change back, Black Star, I'm sorry…"

Soul growled in a low tone and shot a glare to the woman who was now sitting in a tree branch, painting her nails as she waited for the fight to continue.

"No, it wasn't your fault. That enemy, Agnes or whatever, she can make it so that weapons can't transform." He said sourly, putting his hands in his pockets again. "I didn't even know weapons had a weakness. I thought we were more or less invincible when in weapon form." He muttered.

"How can she do that?" Tsubaki asked quietly.

"With her soul wavelength. It's a spell that apparently lasts a few hours," Maka explained, frowning.

"Spell…so she's—" Black Star was cut off by Soul.

"She's not. She's just able to use magic."

Black Star faced the girl sitting in the tree and yelled in frustration.

"What the hell!? I'm so gonna defeat you for doing that to my friends!" He cried out, dashing to Agnes with a grin. "Maka, go get Tsubaki and Soul some help! A star like me doesn't need any backup!"

Maka smiled slightly when she heard that, but nodded. Then, remembering her friend couldn't see her, she called out in agreement and led the two weapons back to the Academy.

Their walk back was longer than expected, as Soul and Tsubaki had to stop every few minutes from being electrified. Maka ended up needing to help them both with the simple task of walking, and she grew more worried by the second for their condition.

_Why is it hurting them so much? I don't understand…it's not like they're being tortured or anything…_

She let out a barely audible gasp as Tsubaki stopped in her tracks once more, eyes shut painfully as she felt another attack coming on.

When the taller girl recovered, the three continued on once more.

_Agnes…what is she? What can she do to weapons?_

Maka stole a glance at Soul. He had one arm draped over her shoulders and the other one dangling loosely by his side. He said nothing as they walked, and merely gritted his teeth when he felt the electricity once more. She knew he was trying to hide his pain for her sake, but she didn't mention it.

_Maybe if I use my Soul Perception, I can figure out what's going on with their souls. That _must_ have something to do with it._

Closing her eyes and focusing her energy, Maka suddenly felt the presence of multiple souls that surrounded her. She opened her eyes and looked to her left, where Tsubaki trailed behind her slightly. She deemed herself too tall to be supported by the meister and was therefore walking on her own.

Maka frowned when she saw nothing wrong with Tsubaki's soul. However, as the latter was seized with another shock, Maka gasped when she saw part of the weapon's soul disappearing. It repaired itself, however, but still…

_How does a piece of her soul just get ripped off like that?_

"You okay?" Maka asked her, adjusting Soul's position as he swayed slightly. She stared at him a second, worried, before turning her attention back to the weapon on the other side of her.

"Yes, I'm alright." Tsubaki said softly as she smiled.

_Now, to get a look at this idiot's soul…_

She faced the boy once more, this time paying attention to what happened to his wavelength when he was shocked. She waited a moment for the electricity to reappear, having only shown itself a few times since their fight.

Soul suddenly grunted, nearly tripping. Maka knew what was happening and watched as his soul was ripped apart, just as Tsubaki's had been, and as it was magically healed as if nothing had happened.

_I see…so it hurts their souls to not be able to transform…_

Lost in her thoughts, Maka didn't even notice Kid and his weapons running toward her.

"Oh, Maka." He said, startled by her appearance, "I heard some commotion and decided to come see what it was."

"I hope we win!" Patti exclaimed from Kid's hand.

"You don't even know what it is. We could die." Liz pointed out, trying to sound confident.

Maka turned around, and, looking past a limping Tsubaki, she was able to see that Black Star was putting up quite the fight with Agnes.

"I think it'll be alright." She mentioned, turning back to face Kid, "Right now, these two need help."

As if on cue, Soul was seized by a shock more powerful than the last, and he brought both hands to his chest as he cried out. Kid watched in worry as his form slumped to the ground, unmoving.

"Soul!" Maka immediately kneeled down next to him.

"Maka, what happened to them?" Kid inquired in shock, still staring at Soul.

"That person Black Star is fighting can disable their weapon forms. It destroys their souls to not be able to transform." She explained worriedly, trying to shake Soul awake. "Soul, please wake up…"

"Kid, I'm getting a bad feeling about this!" Liz said suddenly.

"Yeah, it feels kinda creepy…" Patti admitted. She then turned back to human form along with her sister as they hugged.

"I'm too young to die!"

"Don't worry sis, we have Kid here to protect us!"

"Don't say that, Patti, you're making it worse!" Liz exclaimed in tears as she continued holding on to her sibling. To this, Kid frowned. He then noticed Tsubaki cry out as Soul had done moments before. Just like the male weapon, she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Tsubaki!" He called out, bending down next to her, "We need to get these two to Nygus." He announced, trying to get Tsubaki on his back.

_Don't think of the non-symmetrical being on your back, Kid, don't think of the non-symmetrical being on your back…_

His face turned into one of disgust as he tried to imagine Tsubaki being perfectly symmetrical.

Maka did the same with Soul and started walking ahead, quickly followed by Kid who called out to his partners.

"Liz, Patti, are you two coming?" He questioned, still walking forward.

"Y-yeah…" Liz stuttered, releasing her hug.

"Coming!" Patti exclaimed, racing past her sister.

Hearing a scream, Kid turned around to see smoke arising from where Black Star and Agnes were fighting.

"Are you sure he'll be okay?" He asked skeptically.

Maka thought a moment before sighing.

"If you wanna go…"

Kid's lips formed a thin line as he thought about it.

_If I fight, Liz and Patti won't be able to come with me. I'll have to go in alone._

He nodded once, gently placing Tsubaki on a padded area.

"I'm going back."

Liz screamed and held on to Patti as the younger tried to cheer her up.

"Oh, calm down, Liz! I'm going by myself. I can't risk you two getting hurt."

Maka was about to protest, but Kid patted her on the shoulder and ran off to join Black Star.

Liz sighed in relief, and Maka seemed to notice this.

"How can you be so relieved? Your meister is going there alone!" She argued, shifting Soul's position on her back.

_Well, at least he's not too heavy._

"He's Kid, he'll be fine! Besides, Black Star's with him." Liz defended, walking up to Tsubaki, "Anyway, shouldn't we worry more about her and Soul?" She said, nodding to the unconscious figure on Maka's back.

"Yeah…" Maka walked on by herself as Patti helped Liz get Tsubaki on the elder's back. They quickly joined up with the meister and the three walked in silence.

"Sis, do you still have that weird feeling?" Patti asked suddenly, turning around to face her sister as she walked backwards.

"Yeah," Liz said seriously, "I hope this doesn't happen to us."

"So do I," Maka agreed, surprising the sisters, "I know it's bad, what happened to Soul and Tsubaki, but they need to be the only weapons this happens to. If Agnes does this to everyone else at the Academy who knows what'll happen…"

There was a short silence before Maka shook her head.

"Come on, we're wasting time." She uttered.

Liz and Patti said nothing as they continued on their way.

After a little while, Maka felt Soul move around and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Liz to stop and Patti to bump right into Tsubaki.

"What? What is it?" Patti asked, curious.

"Soul?" Maka questioned, looking over her shoulder.

"Mmn…"

"Oh, he's awake…" Liz commented, quickly looking over her shoulder as well to see if she could say the same of Tsubaki. Unfortunately, she couldn't. She looked back at Soul and smiled slightly.

"Soul!" Maka exclaimed in relief, "Are you okay?"

"Wha…" It took him a moment to realize he was on Maka's back. Shocked, he stumbled off of her and fell to the ground. "You were carrying me!?" He asked in surprise, pointing to Maka. The latter blushed a bit and extended her hand out to him with a nod. Soul smiled and shook his head.

_That idiot…she could've hurt herself._

He grabbed her wrist and she hoisted him up, immediately embracing him in a hug, once again surprising the weapon.

_Was she _that _worried? How long was I out…?_

As if hearing his thoughts, Maka spoke up.

"Geez, Soul! I was so worried. You and Tsubaki just suddenly collapsed and I didn't know what to do…"

It was then Soul realized he was surrounded by two other familiar weapons—Liz and Patti. He looked around a second before asking a question.

"And Kid's not with these two?" He asked, referring to the sisters as 'these two'.

"He was just here. We ran into him not too long ago and he was going to come back with us." Maka explained.

"But then instead he went to go fight that mean lady with Black Star!" Patti added in a giddy tone.

_Ha, that's just like Kid and Black Star. Fighting without their weapons in order to protect them…_

Soul looked over at Maka who was now looking over Tsubaki.

_Or even Maka, whenever she refuses to guard because…because…_

He unconsciously put a hand to the scar on his chest as he watched Tsubaki wake up while Maka asked her how she was doing.

_Maka…_

He clutched his bright orange shirt unknowingly, and Maka caught him in the act.

"Soul?"

Dragged from his thoughts, Soul noticed that Maka was staring at him with a concerned look. He realized what he was doing and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'm fine," He said, just as fast.

Not fully believing him, Maka kept her firm look on him for a few seconds before standing up and helping Tsubaki get up as well.

"Let's get going." She said sternly, walking ahead of everyone.

Soul, confused, ran up to join her and walked beside her.

"What's up?" He asked, frowning, "You're acting weird."

Again, Maka stopped in her tracks. Soul stopped as well, motioning for the others to continue on.

"_I'm_ acting weird?" She repeated softly. Soul kept his look on her, not showing how uncomfortable he suddenly was with her tone, "Soul…" Her meadow-green eyes locked into his strawberry ones as she spoke, making him a bit nervous. "You're hurting me!" She exclaimed, arms in the air.

Soul stood there in shock, but quickly recovered.

"How the hell am I hurting you?" He asked calmly, trying not to feed the fire.

"Whenever I see you like this…" She walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest. Soul was slightly surprised although she had done this numerous times before. He remembered the first time she had done that, while they were with Medusa and Stein in the alley way.

_Damn, she's still feeling guilty about that scar? It was ages ago!_

"Maka—"

"I know what you're going to say." She looked down, hand still on his torso, "That it wasn't my fault and you were supposed to do that—to protect me."

Soul said nothing as he gently grabbed her wrist and lowered her hand, catching her by surprise.

"But it's true. Maka, it really doesn't bother me anymore. It's behind us and I hardly ever even think about it. It's not cool to dwell on the past. If anyone should be feeling guilty, obviously it's me for making you feel this way." He countered, smirking. "Besides, having a battle scar is pretty freakin' sweet. Not even Black Star has proof of all his battles."

"But we lost that one!" Maka argued, tearing up.

_This was definitely not the direction I wanted to go…_

Soul sighed and walked on ahead.

"C'mon, we should go see how Tsubaki's doing, right?"

Maka hesitated before catching up with him and the others as they continued their walk to the Academy.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: A week, just like I non-publically-and-actually-more-to-myself promised! Anyway… I'm pretty sure the in characterness of this chapter kinda sucks, so :l Bear with me, okay? Okay.**

**Warning: Again, just expect stuff you see in the show derp.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater!**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Enter Lady Miiro_

Upon entering the DWMA, Maka noticed that they received a few strange looks from other students and staff. They were quite known around the school, their group of seven, so the students were most likely wondering why Maka was with Kid's and Black Star's weapons.

The girl also noticed that Soul and Tsubaki's wavelengths were fainter, and was able to tell that they were visibly exhausted.

When the five of them stepped foot in the dispensary, Nygus saw the worried eyes of Maka, Liz, and Patti and immediately let the teens in.

Tsubaki and Soul were then put to bed rest, and after Nygus had done some testing, she stepped outside to where Maka was waiting. Kid's weapons had gone to ensure the safety of their meister and told Maka that they would be back shortly.

"Miss Nygus," The meister breathed, standing up quickly from where she was sitting, "How are they?"

The weapon paused before answering quietly.

"I'm not sure."

Maka's eyes widened as she ran inside the room. The younger weapons lay frighteningly still, nothing but their chest slowly rising being the indication that they were alive. Tsubaki had pale yellow pajamas on. Her hair was untied and was sprawled out on the bed. Soul wore a white and red top and his mouth was slightly parted as he slept peacefully. Their clothes sat in a corner of the room on a chair, save for Tsubaki's hair tie and Soul's headband which were both on the nightstand in the middle of the two beds.

The young meister decided to check on Tsubaki, too scared to see how Soul was first. The former seemed alright, nothing but a few cuts and bruises here and there. Noticing what Maka was looking at, Nygus walked up to her.

"She has a few burns…they seem to be from being electrocuted." The nurse mentioned. She said nothing more as Maka nodded and hesitantly headed over to Soul's bed.

He had bandages covering his forearms, cheeks and forehead and a couple of bruises, but other than that, he was seemingly okay.

"He has quite a collection of burns, this one." Nygus said, shaking her head, "Like he was electrocuted, too." She looked down to find Maka sitting in a chair across from Soul's bed with her head hung low in guilt. "Mind telling me what happened?"

Before Maka could speak, the door burst open and Black Star bounced in, slowly followed by Kid and his twin pistols.

"Tsubaki and Soul! Are you guys alright!?" Black Star exclaimed, jumping to the space in the middle of the beds. "My weapon and my friend! This is horrible!" He shot his arms in the air dramatically as he spoke, before noticing the stares he was being given. "Sorry guys, a star has to make an awesome entrance, you know..."

He looked over at his partner, taking in her condition. His eyes narrowed and his hands formed into fists.

_It's a damn good thing Kid and I beat that pathetic Agnes._

"How are they, Miss Nygus?" Kid asked somewhat reluctantly. Liz and Patti suddenly materialized in front of him as Patti spoke up.

"We beat that guy _gooooood_~!" She chanted, dancing around in excitement.

"That was actually a girl…" Liz said slowly as she crossed her arms.

Nygus paused for a second, but she then sighed and shook her head sadly.

"Unfortunately, I don't really know. They seem drained, but their physical wounds aren't telling me much. Anyone want to give me an explanation?"

Everyone turned to Maka, expecting her to give the older weapon details on the story. The meister took in a shaky breath before speaking, explaining the events that had occurred a mere half hour before. When Nygus didn't say anything, and turned to face away the kids in the room, Kid grew suspicious.

"Miss Nygus…by any chance, has this ever happened to you?"

She was taken aback by the question, and she visibly shuddered a second before turning around.

"Yes." She replied seriously, gripping her clip board to her chest as if it was the most important object in the world.

The teens stood in shock, trying to imagine Nygus in the state Tsubaki and Soul were in. The blue haired ninja was the first to recover.

"How did you stop it?" Black Star asked, "If it's a fight we need to settle, then so be it!"

"This is what troubles me the most…" The nurse said, equally as monotone as she had been a minute before, "The way to stop the wavelength from eating at their souls is to stop the source it came from. But Patti, you mentioned that you already defeated it alongside Liz, Kid and Black Star…"

Patti nodded and placed a finger to her chin.

"At least, I think we did. We did, didn't we, sis?" She questioned, looking at her older sister. Liz nodded in agreement, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, we did. So…"

Maka got up from where she was sitting. Pushing the chair to the side, she began to slowly walk out of the room.

"Maka, wait! Where are you going?" Kid asked, reaching a hand out as if to stop her.

"Home. It's my turn to cook tonight," She said simply, not facing anyone. She left the room, closing the door behind her.

"That idiot..."

Everyone turned to face Soul, who had been staring at the ceiling.

"Oh, Soul, you're awake." Nygus commented, not exactly sure what to say.

"Why's Maka an idiot?" Black Star asked in confusion.

Soul was quiet a moment before he closed his eyes.

"It's my turn to make dinner tonight. Not hers."

* * *

Maka sat on the couch in her living room, knees brought up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. The TV was on, illuminating the shadowy area with a soft glow. She paid no attention to the muted programming as she rested her chin on her knees. It was rather late and the girl was growing sleepy, but she didn't feel like going to bed just yet.

A gentle breeze broke in through the window, putting out the fire of a nearby candle. The meister watched the smoke slowly rise in a wisp and dissipate into the air. She mentally noted to close the window on her way to her bedroom later on.

It had been so quiet—even Blair was asleep—that she failed to notice someone walking in.

The figure made it all the way to the living room, and Maka had still not budged.

"You should lock the door when you're home alone." Soul said softly.

She looked up, a bit alarmed to see him, but didn't respond.

"Here," He handed her a small styrofoam container. Without opening it, Maka took in the scent of fried noodles. "You know…since _I_ was actually supposed to take care of dinner tonight," He said casually, scratching the back of his neck.

_He heard me say that? I thought he was asleep…_

"Thanks," Maka muttered, placing the food on the table in front of her. Soul raised an eyebrow.

"You're not gonna eat it?"

"Not hungry." Was all she said.

They stayed like that for a moment before Maka stood up.

"What are you doing here, anyway? You're supposed to be staying at the dispensary with Tsubaki." She mentioned in a concerned tone. Soul waved a hand.

"Nygus allowed me to come and talk to you. She said I'd have to go right back, so I actually don't have much time 'till I need to return." He eyed her before lowering his head a bit. "Answer me honestly."

This surprised the meister, and her attention was fully grabbed by him.

"Do I make you feel guilty?" He inquired in a low voice.

Maka didn't know what to say to that.

_Of course you do, moron! I always feel bad for what happened to you…!_

"I mean, you can tell me your feelings and shit," Soul added, suddenly a bit nervous, "It's not really cool for me to tell you mine but as a girl you totally have the right to say what's on your mind or whatever, I guess." He said quickly, making her smile.

She glanced at the noodles on the table; they were starting to smell pretty good. Without thinking, she grabbed it and walked over to the kitchen to grab a fork. Soul smirked, knowing she loved the pasta.

"It's fine, Soul. You just worry me, that's all. You know that, and yet…" She paused to take a bite of her food before continuing, "And yet…you keep doing stupid things, like this," She gestured to his body. She was actually referring to his soul, but he got the gist of it.

"Hey," He replied, holding his hands up defensively, "This time it wasn't even me."

She knew that.

Then why did she feel so guilty?

Deciding that she was no longer hungry, she closed the lid of the container and put it in the fridge before placing her fork in the sink.

"Just…don't feel so bad, alright?" The weapon advised before sighing, "I know that's not the best thing to say, but trust me. I hardly think of it—"

"Hardly!" Maka exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, "There's that word again! That means you still think about it!"

Well, shit.

_Wow, I really am good with words today…_

"Not in a bad way, Maka. We had only been partners for a few months before that happened…so, I guess you could say its proof of how much shit we go through." He countered, "Not everyone could say they fought a demon sword with black blood within their first year at DWMA." He pointed out.

"Not everyone could say that their partner nearly died."

_Would she stop doing that already!?_

"They can, actually. That's what weapons are for…" He uttered.

Maka changed the topic as a thought came to mind.

"Soul…does it ever…" She pointed to her own chest, "Hurt?"

The question froze him for a second. He looked at the ground.

"No." He replied, putting a hand in his pocket. He walked over to the door and stood there a moment before opening it slowly. "Then again, it never really did."

He walked out quietly, leaving the girl by her lonesome.

She stayed in front of the door until she could no longer feel his wavelength. Sighing, she walked into her room after turning off the lights.

She had forgotten to shut the window, though.

* * *

Although they didn't live too far from the DWMA, Soul took his time on the walk back to the school. He enjoyed the cool evening air; it was refreshing after spending multiple hours lying down on an uncomfortable, pathetic excuse of a bed inside such a stuffy room.

He took in a deep breath, inhaling the crisp air surrounding him. A slight nighttime breeze shuffled his hair, temporarily causing his bangs to fall in front of his eyes. With the flick of a wrist, he pushed his bangs to the side and continued on, finding the familiar, perfectly symmetrical building that was the DWMA.

The walk to the infirmary was shorter than he remembered, and less than a minute after entering the school, he found himself slowly opening the door.

"I'm back," Soul announced, walking into the dispensary.

Tsubaki greeted him with a smile, asking how his chat with Maka went.

"After all that, I still don't really know what she's thinking…" He sighed, plopping on his bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that…" Tsubaki commented with a frown, "Do you think maybe…you feel guilty for making her feel this way? Is that what's troubling you?"

"Tch."

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that…she's guilty, now I'm guilty…it's like a guilt train." He explained with a grin.

Tsubaki nodded after a moment before speaking.

"Yes…it is, isn't it?"

Nygus then walked in, checking both their vitals before leaving once more, telling them to 'shut the hell up and get some rest'.

Which was exactly what they did.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

"Where's Agnes?"

"She was confirmed dead, Lady Miiro."

A groan and a slap were heard.

"I'm sorry milady, but I'm just the messenger; I don't know who killed her…!"

Tapping of the foot and another sigh.

"Then go find out who _did_!"

"Of course! On my way, Lady Miiro!"

The figure smiled as the messenger fled the area, not bothering to shut the door behind him.

"Oh, Agnes," She mocked, "You idiot. You had them right in the palm of your hands…the weapons could have been mine…oh, well."

* * *

_Two days later…_

"Let's go, soul resonance!"

Sid sighed as he watched the famous duo practicing Genie Hunter.

"What are those two doing? Weren't they just recovering a few days ago?" He asked, standing next to Nygus.

"Well, yes, they were. They seemed so determined to get this move right, though. The second I let Soul and Tsubaki leave, he dashed right out to find Maka…"

A crash was heard and the two staff members turned their attention to Maka, who was on the floor. She got up slowly, panting, and picked up her scythe.

"Soul, are you even trying?!"

"Quit asking that, would ya?! Of course I'm trying! I'm dying to get this move down just as much as you are!"

Sid put his hands to his hips and sighed.

"They're gonna kill each other before the enemy does," He said in a light hearted tone.

Before he could continue, he heard Maka and Soul yelling at one another yet again.

"No! This is Witch Hunter again!"

"Thanks for the update, Maka!"

This time, Sid laughed a bit as he watched the two bicker.

"What's so funny?" Nygus asked, facing him.

"They're just so much like us when we were their age."

Nygus nodded slowly, siding with his statement. However, her thoughts were elsewhere.

"Something wrong?" He asked, sensing her unease.

"Well…it's just that…you don't know the reason Soul and Tsubaki were in my care, do you?"

"No…why?"

"Miiro…I think she's back."

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

The messenger walked into the dark, spacious room and presented himself in front of Lady Miiro. He bowed briefly before letting her speak, showing his respect toward her. She nodded once, wearing a smile, before resting her chin on her fist.

"Well, Kuso? Did you find the murderer?" She asked, twirling a strand of hair with her free hand.

"Murderer-_s_!" Kuso announced giddily, pronouncing the plural of the word with great exaggeration.

"Oh?"

"Two student meisters at the DWMA, it seems." He said confidently with a smirk.

"What a surprise. You know what to do, right?" Miiro asked, placing both her hands in her lap.

"Right!"

"Run along and take care of business, then." She waved her hand at him in a shooing manner.

He dashed out of the room and went down the hallway. He was greeted by…himself. He paused a moment startled, before he realized who it was.

"What the—Oh, Kiwi, that's just you. Would you stop doing that?! It's creepy…"

"Oh, you know you like it, mew~!" A bright light filled the area and instead of himself, the messenger was looking at a pale, pink kitten in a purple ribbon on her tail. "That better?"

"A lot, thanks. Listen, you need to take this," He tossed her a small cube-shaped device, "And perch yourself on top of the entrance of the Academy. You aim this at every weapon you see coming out, alright?"

"It'll beep once when it's a weapon...no sound when it's a meister. Aim, shoot, weapon gets hit by electrical currents that disables their weapon form…am I right?"

"You got it, kiddo. Now get out and ruin some souls!"

"I'll depart immediately, mew~!" She flicked her tail in excitement before trotting off.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so** **sorry for not uploading this on Saturday! I had this chapter done by then, but I just completely forgot to upload it...OTL...Also, I hope my OCs aren't taking up too much spotlight, and that the canon characters are IC... u_u**

**Warning: Same as always~**

**Disclaimer: Dis series ain't mine, broskies.**

* * *

_Chapter 3: Enter Kiwi_

The pink cat made her way to the Academy in little to no time, and circled the area multiple times to take in its view. After a half hour of doing nothing, she sighed and figured she'd get to work.

"Mew…how am I supposed to get way up there?" Kiwi mumbled sadly, eyeing the giant candle before her. When she heard footsteps, she hopped up on the nearest tree as she looked down to see who it was. Before she could determine the figure, the tiny machine wrapped in her tail beeped once, indicating that the person walking out of the school was a weapon. She grinned, her fangs poking out of her mouth.

_This is my chance, mew~!_

The tiny cat balanced herself on the branch and aimed her tail at the boy walking down the steps of the building. However, she tripped at the last moment and fell to the area right beneath the twig she had been resting on. She stood up quickly, marching in place.

"Ahh! No, no, no! Not fair, mew~!" She spun around, in search of the cube she was given, but wasn't able to find it. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared before her.

"A cat? What's a cat doing way out here?"

_Mew…now there's a weird blue man in front of me…! _

Sid took the device into his possession and sighed.

"Were you playing with this?" He asked, extending his arm out to the kitten.

Kiwi meowed several times, jumping and swiping a paw at Sid's hand. He shook his head and started walking away. Kiwi followed him and kept meowing to try and get his attention, and the zombie finally turned around.

"Listen, cat, you shouldn't play with something so small. You could choke on it! I'm going to dispose of it." Sid informed the creature, heading towards a trash can.

As he walked on, the small furball kept following him.

_Once he throws it away, I'll just snatch it when he leaves, mew~!_

Passing by the garbage bin, Sid dropped the cube into the container and left in the opposite direction, mumbling to himself about stupid cats. Kiwi hopped into the can, wincing at the smell, and grabbed her treasure before hoping out smoothly and landing on all fours.

She meowed excitedly and resumed her spot on the branch she was on earlier. She climbed a bit higher to avoid being seen and placed her paws on two separate branches. She waited anxiously for more pairs to come out.

The machine beeped every few minutes, and whenever the weapon was hit, their meister would notice something wrong with them and the two would slowly walk back inside. After thirty minutes, however, Kiwi had only succeeded in infecting three or four weapons.

"This is taking way too long, mew…" She said sadly, climbing down the tree, "I have a better idea, mew~!"

She intruded the building, dodging anyone that came near her, and decided she was much closer to the students—close enough to do her job easier and quicker.

None of them seemed to know she was there, or if they did, they didn't acknowledge her presence. She smiled to herself, taking in the fact. It was definitely an advantage to her part!

She strutted down the busy hallways, and although she admired her invisibility among the students, she grew curious as to why no one had spotted her as of yet. However, she simply ignored the thought and continued making her way around the school, thinking of how to get all the weapons together at once—if it was even possible.

As she passed by a room, she noticed Dr. Stein in it, teaching a class.

_Dr. Stein…he teaches the strongest pairs, mew~! If I can infiltrate the classroom, I can get all the weapons in there at once, mew~!_

Walking a bit closer to the door, Kiwi's smile grew.

_The students are all busy doing work…they won't even notice me coming in, mew~!_

"Hey, Stein!"

Sid's voice suddenly boomed from behind the pale cat and she scrambled to her feet to run across the hall. She squirmed behind a recycling bin and poked her heard out to take in the view down the aisle. From her hiding spot, she saw Sid walking into the room she was just about to enter a moment before. A few seconds right after, both he and Stein walked out and began talking to one another in a low voice.

_Perfect, he's not even in the room anymore, mew~!_

Kiwi strolled out of her spot after taking in the appearance of Stein. Using most of her energy, she replicated herself to look exactly like him—using a slight more bit of power than normal to mask her voice, as well. She slowly walked into the classroom, making sure that neither Sid nor Stein saw her entrance.

Maka looked up from her work, startled. Soul noticed this and looked at her, concerned.

"What's wrong?" He asked carefully.

"A weird soul wavelength just appeared in this room…" She muttered quietly.

Soul looked at her, slightly alarmed, before nodding to their teacher, who nobody yet knew was Kiwi.

"You sure it's not just Dr. Stein?"

Maka rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"He's not _that _weird…and yeah, I'm sure it's not him." She said worriedly, looking at the front of the classroom.

"Maybe it was just someone passing by. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Maka." Soul suggested with a shrug. The blonde nodded and went back to finishing her paper.

Kiwi grinned to herself as she took in the realization that nobody even noticed her intrusion. Hiding the device in her pocket, she turned to her students and clapped twice, rather loudly, to get their attention.

"Students, I have an assignment, mew~!"

Suddenly, Ox's hand rose in the air, and before Kiwi could grant him permission to speak, the student interrupted her.

"Did you just meow, sir?"

Kiwi's smile deteriorated when she realized her mistake.

"Ah…I have a frog in my throat, me—maybe…?" She said, slightly angry.

Ox stared at her a second before lowering his hand.

"Anyway, my assignment…" Kiwi was once again interrupted by a student when Maka's hand shot in the air.

"Yes, Maka?"

"But Mr. Stein, we're already doing _this_ assignment…" She trailed off, pointing at the paper she was writing on.

Kiwi seethed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't have a lot of patience, especially with stupid _mortals_ like those children, and they were wasting her time! She was running out of energy having to keep her form like Stein's, and the longer the students asked questions…She sighed, erasing the thoughts from her mind.

"This one is more important! It can help you with your, erm, battling techniques and whatnot, me—maybe…?"

_Professor Stein sure is acting weird right now…_

Kiwi sat on Stein's chair and spun around a few times before sliding down the empty space in front of the classroom.

"Weapons on this side," She declared, holding out her left arm, "And meisters on the other!"

Everyone obeyed, yet Maka stayed suspicious of her teacher's actions. She tried to force herself to shove the thought to the back of her head, but she couldn't let go of the weird soul she was feeling.

Kiwi stood up and walked to the division of the students so that she was clearly visible to all of them.

"This is the…uh…Soul Extending Cube!" She held it up for the kids to see and walked down the line of students, showing it up high. "It makes your soul wavelength expand more than usual so that you and your partners can resonate from a greater distance."

She was definitely getting the hang of this teaching thing…!

Maka was skeptical once more and asked how that was possible. Kiwi faltered, but recovered by saying that she didn't know herself and that was what made it an amazing discovery.

The intruder then turned to her side and walked over to the meisters, pressing a button on the object in her palm.

"Alright, this won't hurt a bit, I promise!"

_Well, at least not the meister kids, mew~!_

She aimed the object at the line of students and waved it around in order to make sure its light shone on them all. Even though it had no effect on meisters, she wanted to pretend that it would and thus everyone needed to be touched by it.

When she was done, she dropped her hand to her side.

"Now…the_ weapons, _mew~!"

"Mr. Stein, you meowed again…" Soul interrupted, crossing his arms in a bored matter.

Kiwi ignored his statement and aimed the device at the weapons. At first, there was no reaction, but once a few of them started to get electrocuted, she laughed and shoved the item in her pocket.

Meisters ran to their partners, ensuring their well-being. Maka, however, walked up to Kiwi who had by then transformed back into her cat form.

"You! I knew there was a different wavelength in here!" She yelled, chasing Kiwi out of the classroom. As she did so, she bumped into the real Stein, allowing Kiwi to run out of sight. "Professor Stein…!" She breathed.

"What's going on in there?" Sid questioned, hearing the panicked cries of Stein's students.

"Is there a fight going on without supervision, Maka? They should know that's not allowed!" Stein asked, storming in the room, "We'll continue our chat later, Sid!" He called over his shoulder. The zombie said nothing as he walked off, confused. Maka ran in after Stein with wide eyes.

Nearly every weapon in the class was on the ground, including Soul and Tsubaki. Maka shuddered at the sight.

_I guess it's good that Kid's on a mission with Liz and Patti…_

Black Star was standing his guard around his partner, yelling to and threatening anyone who got too close to them.

Without a moment's hesitation, Maka used her Soul Perception to take a look at everyone's wavelengths. They were all distorted; Soul's and Tsubaki's being the worst of them all from previously hit by the attack. She dashed over to her partner's side, helping him up as Black Star did the same with Tsubaki.

"Listen up, everyone!" Stein announced after composing himself, "Get your partners out of here! There's an unusual wavelength in the area and weapon students cannot afford to be hit by it!"

His students looked at him as if he were crazy, but obeyed him nonetheless. They searched for their classmates and dashed out of the building as quickly as they could. When Maka and Black Star were about to run out, followed by their two dazed weapons, Stein held an arm out to block their exit.

"Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki," He called their names as if taking attendance, "Mind staying behind?"

Black Star fist pumped the air with a smirk, claiming that he was ready for whatever they were about to face. Tsubaki reluctantly agreed, muttering softly to herself how weapons were always supposed to go along with their meisters. Maka eyed Soul, asking him silently what he wanted to do. He grinned.

"So, you're up to this?" She asked to make sure.

"Waiting on you, Maka." He declared, holding his hand out.

She grasped his hand, and even though there was a slight difficulty at first, she then held a scythe.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go already!" Black Star exclaimed. "Tsubaki!"

"Right!"

The tall girl took a few attempts, but turned into her weapon form as her meister gripped her tightly. Her chains jangled when they hit the floor, the sound echoing throughout the now empty hallway.

Maka smirked. Soul and Tsubaki had seemingly developed a slight immunity to the mysterious wavelength and were able to transform despite being hit by it.

"Black Star, Tsubaki, I want you to evacuate anyone left in the building, fighting along any harm that you may face on the way. Got it?"

"Of course! You can count on a big star like me!" He dashed off quickly, not bothering to ask anything.

Maka stared down the aisle before turning to Stein.

"What harm?" She asked, suppressing a nervous tone.

"I just wanted him to feel like he was doing something," Stein declared, lighting a cigarette that he seemed to have retrieved out of thin air. He let out a puff of smoke before smirking. "You two, however, are gonna help me out a bit. Do you guys like kittens?"

"Hate 'em." Soul barked, though his tough-attempted tone was muffled by his weapon form. He briefly thought of Blair as he stated his hatred.

"I couldn't agree more." Maka added, also thinking of the purple magical cat lodging in their home.

Stein inhaled deeply before exhaling more smoke. He grinned once more before speaking.

"Great. Then you'll love this new assignment I have for you."

* * *

"What a mission…" Maka sighed, walking around the deserted corridors.

"Would you have preferred to run out like pansies as the rest of the students have done?" Soul muttered; he wasn't too happy with what they were assigned, himself.

The two—Soul miraculously holding up in weapon form in Maka's grasp—made their way around the maze of a school, looking around for the their newest pink enemy.

"_Just find her and kill her." _Stein had said.

Why the assignment was given to them, however, was completely beyond Maka's comprehension. Stein's Soul Perception was much more accurate than hers, and he could have defeated the animal in a split second if he wanted to.

Turning a corner, and suddenly feeling another presence in the area, Maka's grip on Soul tightened. Noticing this, Soul's jaw clenched before speaking.

"What is it, Maka?"

"The weird feeling from before…in class," She explained before halting completely. She looked around a moment before taking a step. However, before she could move once more, she was confronted with what appeared to be an exact replica of herself. She wasn't fazed, however, as she recalled being fooled by a fake Professor Stein moments before. "So, you're the runt." She said simply, shifting into a fighting stance.

"Aww, you're no fun, mew…" A soft white light and a second later, Kiwi stood in front of them wearing a smirk. "Hey, wanna play game?" She asked excitedly, ears twitching with happiness.

"No." Soul replied firmly.

From the reflection of the scythe's blade, Maka saw Soul visibly tense. He was enraged for some reason she couldn't quite place…

As if reading her mind, Kiwi giggled.

"He's seething, it's hilarious, mew~! My wavelength does that. It pisses people off!"

Without thinking, Soul transformed into his human form and marched up to the feline, grabbing her by the tail and stealing the device she was holding.

"Soul, wait—!"

"For what?" He interrupted, "We have her now, don't we?"

"We're supposed to kill her, not play around!" Maka countered, hands formed into fists.

Before their argument could go any further, Kiwi let out a loud, irritating screech.

"What!?" Soul demanded, shaking her in his grip.

"You're forgetting what you're dealing with, mew." She said seriously, wiggling out of the weapon's possession. She landed gracefully on the ground, jumping up quickly and grabbing the device with her tail.

"What the hell do you mean?" Soul asked, his patience thinning.

Kiwi licked her paw once before grooming her ears. She sat down and sighed.

"Mew…cats have nine souls, stupid."

Maka could have slapped herself. How could she have forgotten? At that moment, Soul wasn't the only one with anger management issues.

"Soul." She said nothing else, but Soul nodded and transformed into a scythe with a bit more ease than the last time. His form flew into the air and Maka caught him before spinning him around, showing off her capabilities.

"Woo, you can twirl a stick, mew. Want a cookie?"

"Let's play _my_ game now!" The meister announced, prepared to fight.

"But we haven't even played mine, mew~!" The cat whined with a grin.

Maka slid forward, charging at the creature with full speed. She pulled the scythe back before swinging full force, slicing the air in one fell swoop. Kiwi dodged to the side, but Maka was prepared for that. She spun on her heel and dug her opposite foot into the ground before bringing Soul down in a vertical line, cutting the cat in half. The two parts of her body dissipated and one of her souls levitated freely in the air.

With a grunt, Maka turned around, expecting the cat to appear suddenly. When nothing happened, she narrowed her eyes. She swung Soul over her shoulder and, not lowering her guard, she slowly stepped forward, looking around as she did so.

"Where did she go?" Soul asked to no one in particular.

His meister ignored the question and instead continued walking down the hallway. She suddenly sensed another wavelength and stopped, gripping Soul with both hands.

"She's back."

Kiwi appeared in front of them, smiling. The device was still tucked neatly in her tail; she had grabbed it before they could notice.

"Mew, this is boring, besides, you don't even know how many souls I have left..." She complained in a whiny voice.

"Eight." Maka said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And was it not?

"Nope!"

"Well then you obviously have less, so easier for us!" Maka yelled, dashing forward.

Kiwi ran in between her legs, but Maka reacted quickly and spun around to chase the cat down the hall.

"I really wanna play _my_ game, now!" She shrieked, dodging all of Maka's attacks. Another bright light and Kiwi had turned into Spirit. "Maka, you wouldn't wanna hurt your papa, would you?" She taunted, not using more energy than necessary to disguise her voice.

Maka snorted before grinning.

"You couldn't have picked an easier target." She declared, slicing through her supposed dad. However, she had swung a second too late and hit nothing but more light as Kiwi transformed into someone else.

"Come on, Maka, show me your full potential!" It was still Kiwi's voice, but it was Stein who commanded her. She hesitated a moment before yelling in rage and attacking. However, she continued hitting more light.

What Maka saw the third time could have potentially killed her, had it been the real deal.

She took a step back and froze.

_Clang!_

Soul fell to the floor as the clink of metal to ground echoed throughout the empty building.

Neither mesiter nor weapon spoke as they stared at Kiwi's new form.

_No, that's not possible..._

"Oh, so this one scares you, mew~!" She realized out loud, "I should transform into this form more often, then!"

_The Kishin...!_

"And you know what's _really_ cool?"

No response.

"I can only transform into things I've seen by experience!"

Maka's eyes widened when she no longer heard the annoying, high pitched and somewhat innocent voice of the cat she was facing just a moment ago, but a deeper and more menacing one instead.

"That's impossible..." Maka managed to say before collapsing to her knees, "The Kishin..."

Soul stayed silent, his face showing no signs of emotion. He hadn't moved and was still on the ground in weapon form.

"I think I went a bit far," Kiwi muttered to herself in her regular voice, "It's no fun if you just sit there and sulk..." One last flash of light, and the game was over. "Thanks for playing, mew~!"

"Maka, get up," Soul mumbled in a low tone.

She got up slowly, but didn't pick him up.

"So you've met the Kishin..."

Kiwi faltered a second before explaining.

"I only saw him when he was reborn and shot into the sky all dramatic-like, mew..."

Maka's eyes widened at this statement, but she quickly composed herself and an angry sensation showed in her features. Soul smirked upon seeing her expression.

"Well, fruit-named flea-bag, you're in for it, now. You got her pissed." As he spoke, Maka had picked him up, "And then there's me. You are _so_ screwed right now."

"Soul."

"Right."

"Let's go, soul res—!"

"_Wait_!" Kiwi yelled, catching their attention.

"Do we continue, or...?" Maka inquired in a bored tone.

"Nah, let the kitty speak. It'll be her final words."

"One, I still have more than one soul left. Two, don't hurt me, mew..."

Soul changed back, landing next to Maka. He stared at her and she looked back, giving him a confused look. She turned back to the cat and rolled her eyes.

"And we shouldn't hurt you because...?" She crossed her arms as Soul put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm only doing what Lady Miiro asked me to do, mew..."

Maka looked at Soul once more, who yet again returned the look.

"Lady who?" They asked in unison.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Since I updated last Monday, I decided to keep that going on Mondays~ So, here's chapter four. Gettin' a bit of background history on Miiro and a determined/pissed/angsty Soul! Awww yeee (y)**

**Warning: Do I have to keep putting this or**

**Disclaimer: Also do I have to keep putting this**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Save Our Souls_

"Lady who?"

"The Great Lady Miiro...of course you've heard of her, mew...!" Kiwi explained in shock. The pair shook their heads to her, though. She gasped. "Not possible...!" Again, they shook their heads.

"Well, who is she? You gonna tell us or just stare at us like we have seven heads?" Soul asked bitterly.

"Great Lady Miiro...she took me in when I had nowhere else to go. She gave me water and fed me and made sure I had a place to sleep. In return, I do whatever she asks of me, mew..."

"Okay, nice, but _who_ is she?" Soul demanded.

"Well...I'm sure you both know of the witch Arachne?" The two nodded, "Well...Lady Miiro is her cousin."

Almost instantly, Maka wanted to face palm. They had already dealt with that woman's sister...now they had to deal with her cousin? Fantastic...

"And you're aware that Arachne was the first to give a human the capabilities of transforming into a weapon?"

Of course they knew that. They'd might as well hand in their student IDs of the DWMA, resign as students completely, leave Death City—the heck with it, leave Nevada even—if they didn't know that. They nodded yet again.

"Well...that was eight hundred years ago, mew. A couple hundred years ago, Lady Miiro decided that the weapon population had gotten too big and out of control..." She glanced over at Soul, expecting a reaction, but received none, and continued on, "Anyway, she and her sister Agnes—"

"Whoa wait, the same Agnes we fought a few days ago?" Soul asked.

"Yeah, the one who can disable your weapon form, mew~!"

He groaned in response, but let her continue.

"So they decided to use their anti-weapon wavelength to rid the world of Arachne's 'mistakes', as they called them. It took too long and their soul wavelength wasn't strong enough, mew. They started learning magic and using spells, but it took a while since they weren't full witches. Finally, they decided to create something that would amplify their wavelengths...I have one with me today, mew~!"

She flicked her tail, waving the object in front of them as if teasing them.

Maka had to use all her energy to not pounce on the feline and grab the device from her.

"Anyway, they created these and put pieces of their soul in them. Whenever they cast a spell to enlarge their souls, each piece of them in these cubes grew and they all connected to expand their soul wavelengths all over the country, mew. So, if a weapon were to walk by the wavelength, their weapon form would be disabled and little by little, their soul would be ripped to shreds because no matter where they were, they were always surrounded by these cubes, mew...their souls had no time to heal before they just started dying one by one. It was like an epidemic, mew.

"Eventually, because the sisters had pieces of their souls stored in these cubes, their power began to weaken. Sooner than later, the cubes shorted out and at one point, even got discovered, mew. They were all found and destroyed and the sisters went into hiding. Twenty years ago, they tried again, but quickly retreated because the DWMA had formed and she hadn't realized it 'till then, mew...then, a few weeks ago, Lady Miiro told me she wanted to try and rid the world of weapons once more.

"Before that...I thought she was a good lady, mew. But ever since a few weeks ago, she started making me spy on the DWMA and tried many times to get me to infiltrate it, but I had only successfully done so today, mew. She threatened me, mew~! She told me she'd kick me out if I didn't oblige! Imagine what would happen...she'd actually kick me out! Or kill me! Or worse, mew~!"

Maka said nothing as she tried to process the information. She had never known the tough past of weapons...To add, there was the fact that Nygus was around their age twenty years ago, and she had told Maka that she had gone through the same thing Soul and Tsubaki had.

Soul stayed silent as well, not realizing how, in the eyes of some, his weapon abilities were actually seen as..._mistakes_. Hadn't Arachne intended on her outcome? Had she not done it on purpose?

Kiwi twitched slightly, shifting her weight into a more comfortable position.

"Don't aim that thing at me," Soul protested quietly, taking a small step back.

"Don't worry, mew." Kiwi replied softly with a smile.

Maka sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"So you're not really doing this because you enjoyed it? Because it _really_ looked like you were enjoying what you were doing earlier." Maka pointed out with a frown. Kiwi imitated her expression as she sighed.

"I was only happy because I knew Lady Miiro would be proud of me, mew..."

An eerie silence crashed into them, leaving them staring at one another. Maka put her hands on Soul's shoulders, turning him around so they were face to face. She glanced at Kiwi before looking back at Soul.

"What do we do?" She whispered to him, unsure of what she was supposed to think of the situation.

Soul thought a moment before shrugging.

"We could give her a chance...maybe take her away from Miiro or somethin'."

"Oh, no, we are _not_ keeping _two_ magical cats at home!"

"I never said that," Soul countered with a hard look, "Maybe Black Star and Tsubaki could take care of her."

Maka took a second to digest the idea. It wasn't horrible; if something should happen, they'd immediately take care of it for Black Star and Tsubaki. However, if the cat was as innocent as she claimed to be, then perhaps there was no risk at letting her stay with their friends...

"Just a week or so," Soul said in a hushed tone, "If anything happens, we get rid of her." He demonstrated his determination by transforming his right arm into a blade. "Eight more times," He added, "Or...however many souls she has left." He transformed back and nodded at Kiwi. "Couldn't be too much of a handful."

"Too much of a handful!?" Maka repeated in a whisper, though if she spoke any louder she was sure she'd explode, "Think of Blair!"

"I'd rather not," Soul murmured back.

"Exactly!"

Soul kept his firm look on her. There was an awkward silence before Maka sighed and agreed.

"Like I said, we'll handle it if she does anything stupid," Soul assured with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah."

They turned around and walked over to Kiwi, explaining to her what would be done. Kiwi jumped around excitedly, feeling thankful for a second chance. Maka and Soul offered her a weak smile, worried for what the outcome of the situation would bring. They—especially Maka—still didn't fully trust the shape shifting feline and didn't want to expect the best.

They slowly made their way to one of the back doors of the building, where they met Tsubaki and Black Star. The two pairs huddled into a circle while Maka and Soul told them what would be happening. At first, Black Star wanted to protest, but thanks to Kiwi's comparison to Blair (brought up by none other than Soul), he gladly accepted to take the cat into his and Tsubaki's care.

Stein eventually found the foursome who was still in the middle of chatting. For a second, he was confused, because he noticed Kiwi sitting on the other side of the roof on a banister, seemingly enjoying the soft breeze.

Maka was the first to notice his presence, and mentally cursed; they had completely forgotten about Stein! It was _his _idea to "eliminate" the damn cat, and here he was, watching them as they talked about God knows what for all he knew! Plus, it didn't help that Kiwi was sitting _right there_, as if to say 'yeah, bee tee dubs, they failed their mission epically'.

Stein stopped in his tracks, but showed no emotion. He tossed his cigarette onto the ground before lightly stepping on it. Adjusting his glasses, he made his way over to Kiwi and placed his free hand on her head, in between her ears.

"Oh, you," He said simply, scratching her scalp.

Maka turned around, ready with a full blown explanation, but Stein smiled at her. He told her not to worry, that he had chosen her and Soul for that 'assignment' because he knew they'd do the right thing. He then walked off, leaving the four and Kiwi alone.

"That was a bit strange, even for Mr. Stein," Maka admitted, slightly surprised.

"Whatever. He didn't get mad at us so that's the important thing." Soul responded, leaning against the banister of the roof.

After Black Star and Tsubaki left with the cat, Maka and Soul went to search for Stein to ask why he had suddenly disappeared like that. However, he ended up giving them another 'assignment'.

* * *

"I don't understand," Maka said, clearly irritated, "This is just more walking around aimlessly, which is what we were just doing before!"

"It's actually a pretty good plan," Soul stated, "Kiwi said this stupid device has a tracking unit on it, so we walk around and eventually, lead whoever's on the other side of this thing as far away from the DWMA as possible." He retold their plan to Maka.

"I guess," She commented.

They walked in silence a bit longer before a realization struck her.

"And what if those people on the other side end up finding us?" She asked suddenly.

Soul glanced at her questioningly before asking why she'd think that out of nowhere. Maka ignored his question and put a finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet. She dragged him by the wrist and pulled him down as she kneeled behind a tree. Still, he questioned her, but she didn't reply. He finally stopped asking when he heard footsteps from across a few bushes in the forest they were walking in.

"Are you sure? It's too quiet for people to be here. And this place is in the middle of nowhere..." A voice asked out of the blue.

"Well, if Kiwi really is with someone else, they would've heard us by now." Another voice added.

"Then this stupid thing is broke. Let's go back to Lady Miiro and see if she can give us a new one." The first person suggested.

"Alright, alright, but after that we seriously needa find Kiwi."

"Don't sweat it, geez."

The crunching of leaves and twigs started to fade, as did the voices. Eventually, Maka was no longer able to sense their wavelengths. Sighing in relief, she stood up and motioned for Soul to do the same.

"What was that all about?" He asked, stretching.

"No idea. Obviously, though, they were looking for Kiwi."

"Yeah. I wonder what they want."

"From the sound of it, and from what Kiwi told us, I bet they want a status report or something."

"Who cares; clearly got them confused, so let's just drop that thing here and go back." Soul mentioned, beginning to walk away.

"Wait." Maka interrupted, suddenly serious.

"Wha—"

"They're back."

Without warning, Maka tackled Soul to the ground in an attempt to hide them both.

"I'm sure I heard something this time!"

"You better not be making this up, Kuso!"

Soul shifted in place, feeling uncomfortable with Maka practically sitting on him. He huffed, not wanting to cause a scene, but wanting to alert Maka of his improper posture. She hushed him, knowing that even if she moved slightly, she'd might as well summon fireworks, it'd be so loud.

Maka's breath hitched when she saw the two figures from before passing right by her and her partner.

"It says Kiwi's right here." One of them said.

"Well, she's not..."

From under Maka, Soul peeped open one eye to see the two people standing mere inches away with their backs to them.

"Maybe Kiwi isn't here," The one seemingly named Kuso said, "But someone else is."

Maka and Soul tensed as they felt the bushes from behind them being pushed apart.

_Don't see us don't see us don't see us don't see us...!_

"Oh, lookie here, a meister and weapon pair...interesting..."

"Shit!" Soul cursed in a gasp, standing up quickly after his partner.

"What do you two want?!" Maka asked, positioning herself into a fighting stance. Soul copied and glared at their two 'guests'.

"We're looking for the pest who's supposed to be right here." Kuso explained, "But apparently, you've obtained her Soul Extractor and have lured us into the middle of nowhere..." He seemed to have said the last part mostly to himself.

Without hesitation, Maka launched herself at Kuso as her partner did the same to the other unknown visitor.

"You're not the only weapon and meister pair here, you know!" The muffled voice from under Maka spoke.

"Yeah!" The other in Soul's grasp agreed. With a flash, Soul was no longer detaining a person, but a sword that was sticking up and poked his chest slightly. He halted and stopped himself from moving at all—if his chest had been an inch lower, he'd have been stabbed.

"Not what I meant, you idiot! Your soul's gonna get scrambled in weapon form!" Kuso fumed, trying to pry Maka off of him.

"Oops, right, sorry!" The sword cried, changing back into human form. He placed a hand on his chest and panted, already feeling the effects of the two mysterious devices in Kuso's and Maka's pockets.

"You better be," Soul warned, turning his arm into a blade.

"Soul, what—?" Maka asked, having seen the light from the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He replied casually, pushing the other weapon out from under him.

The latter grinned when he noticed Soul's arm.

"That's gotta hurt," He taunted, standing up slowly.

"There's a difference between being in pain," Soul began, swinging his arm at his rival weapon, "And letting it hold you back!" He exclaimed, slashing the guy in front of him in shoulder.

Right after, Soul lost his balance and toppled to the ground, his arm transforming back to normal as he did so.

"Dammit," He uttered, getting up slowly.

"Soul!" Maka exclaimed, looking up from her spot on top of Kuso.

"I'm alright, I'm alright."

Maka didn't push the thought of Soul getting hurt to the back of her mind, but immediately went back to tackling Kuso, trying to obtain his copy of the Soul Extractor from him.

"This is getting lame!" The sword exclaimed, "I'm ending this!"

"John, wait—!"

However, the weapon ignored his meister and turned both his arms into two sharp edges of a sword. He ran for Maka, who was still attacking Kuso, and was about to hit when Soul yelled in frustration.

"Get away from her!" He exclaimed, turning his own arms into blades. He made a run for the other weapon and swung his arms at him, but kept getting blocked by the other's swords.

"You're being ridiculous, John! Stop this!" Kuso shrieked, running over to his partner.

"Leave me alone!" John seethed, still dueling with Soul.

"Stop it!"

"Kuso! Leave. Me. Alone!" The sword yelled, enraged. He turned around and went to stab his partner, but instead was found face to face with Maka, who had been the one to yell at him, demanding he stop.

"Maka!" Soul breathed, transforming his arms back to normal. He dashed to her side, which was on the ground by Kuso's feet.

"For Christ's sake, John! You always get angry and do stupid things! We weren't supposed to freakin' kill them. Dammit all!" Kuso cursed.

Soul looked over Maka for a moment. She seemed to have been knocked out—from either pain or shock, the scythe wasn't so sure. Perhaps it had been both. Upon further inspection, he noticed the cut wasn't too bad; John must have realized what he was doing before he struck her any deeper. Still, Soul couldn't bring himself to be apologetic any time soon. He stood up slowly, and, without looking at the other weapon, he addressed him with a threatening tone.

"If you wanna live to see that damned breathing sun one more day, I suggest you run."

John smirked when he heard Soul's warning. Kuso, noticing this, immediately looked at him as if to say 'you better not do something idiotic again'. This apparently went unnoticed to the weapon, and he took a step forward as if showing off some form of superiority.

"Why? She your girlfriend?"

Soul growled, and, not a second later, he was so close to John that the sword could feel the scythe's breath on the back of his neck. The former's arm was in blade form, curved around John's body. One wrong move, and the latter's torso would be sliced open. Soul, however, remained silent, as if his blade was doing the talking.

"Oh, how very menacing..."

One wrong move.

John let out a pained cry and fell to the floor, arms around his heavily bleeding chest.

"Kuso, go to Lady Miiro…!"

"What the fuck? Am I tattling on this kid or something?" Kuso asked with wide eyes, still surprised at what had just happened.

Soul watched them bicker as he panted; weapon form, be it an arm or his entire body, was exhausting with those Soul Extractors nearby. It pained him, but hadn't Maka done the same thing once?

"_Soul…I can't hold you, you're too hot..."_

If she was going to dwell on the past, then hell, so was he.

A bit.

Kinda.

Because too much dwelling was uncool.

Stomping and running pulled him from his mini-epiphany. He looked over his shoulder to find Kuso running away, presumably to go see Miiro like John had asked. Soul furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief; he couldn't imagine having _his_ meister just run away from him in his time of need, or vice versa.

Speaking of his meister...

"Maka," He rasped, pushing aside a strand of her blonde locks from her forehead. He received no response, and he bit his lip so hard he could've sworn he was about to draw blood. He lifted Maka up and onto his back and started making his way passed the barley living enemy beside him, then out of the forest.

* * *

He was so tired. Incredibly and utterly, tired. Every inch of his body ached and his vision swam in and out of focus, but he was determined to get Maka medical help. Every step he took was harder than the last, and a few times down the road he felt his knees buckle and was almost prepared to give up. However, he continued on, every so often calling out his meister's name to see if she had awoken.

It was only when he was forced to climb the many,_ many_ stairs leading to the main entrance of the Academy that he found himself completely worn out. He let out a barely audible and involuntary groan as he collided with the steps beneath him. Maka landed safely on top of him, and he didn't budge. He couldn't move; his limbs felt numb and his mind was feverish.

"Sorry, Maka," He sputtered, voice wavering from exhaustion. One of her pigtails landing on his face and tickling his nose was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! It's the end of my first college semester so things have been kinda hectic around here...hopefully I'll have chapter six uploaded within the next week, but it's not a promise :S I only have about a week of school left and then a month off for the holidays, so I'll most likely get a lot of new chapters up... :)**

**Warning: Must I keep putting this here**

**Disclaimer: Soul Eater isn't mine blah blah blah**

* * *

_Of Souls and Symmetry_

"I'm telling you, we failed! We _failed_!" Kid shouted in distress as he fell to the ground on all fours.

"I don't get your logic, Kid. We killed the guy, didn't we?" Liz sighed, transforming into human form along with Patti. They kneeled in front of their meister, patting his back as Patti giggled in the background.

"Before we struck the final blow…"

"What about it?" Liz asked, generally confused.

"He sliced my cheek open," Kid stated, bringing a hand to his face. His fingers brushed against the already-healing wound on his skin.

_Oh, boy…if this is what I think it is—_

"He only did it to one of them!" He shouted in agony, wrapping his hands around his head, "To add, three blood splatters landed on his left cheek, but only two on his right! It's horrible, dreadful, even!"

"But he's dead…" Liz countered with a sigh.

"That may be so, but I'm not! My cheek is still cut, but the other…the other is perfectly bare!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not at all, Liz! I'm atrocious! I'm garbage! I don't deserve to be a Grim Reaper!"

"Not with that attitude…" Liz pointed out. She then grabbed Kid by the collar and dragged him up a few inches, followed by a still giddy Patti. They then found themselves in front of the DWMA.

Liz mumbled to herself as she hauled her mesiter up the stairs of the Academy, ignoring all of his protests and self proclamations.

"Hey, hey, sis! Is that Maka and Soul?" Patti suddenly wondered aloud, appearing right in front of Liz. The latter froze in place, shocked to see her sister magically in front of her, but didn't question it.

"I'd be able to see if you stepped out of the way…" The older said, letting go of Kid in order to push Patti away from her field of vision.

And there, in plain view, lay Maka and Soul, sprawled on the stairs a few steps ahead of them. How she had not noticed before was beyond her. Then again, she was busying herself with Kid and was too preoccupied with her mumbled complaints to notice.

"Shit, are they alright?" She asked mostly to herself. Kid scrambled to get up and dusted himself off, standing on his tippy toes to see past Liz.

"What are we looking at?" He inquired, shoving Liz out of the way just as she had done to Patti not a minute before. He gasped when he saw the unconscious heaps that were his friends, and quickly ordered his weapons to get help as he dashed to weapon-meister pair's aid.

He said their name a few times, hoping to wake them up, but to no avail. He decided to gently move Maka off of Soul and laid her next to him in a more comfortable position so that she wouldn't awake with neck cramps or anything of the sort.

He shook Maka's shoulders lightly, which caused her eyes to blink open once before she shut then hard, removing the fuzziness in her vision. She opened her eyes once more, and, without saying anything, looked around to take in her surroundings. She then noticed the reaper kneeling by her.

"Kid? What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? Helping you, of course! What happened to you two?"

Two...?

_Oh!_

"Soul!" Completely ignoring her friend, Maka shakily stood up and spun around in search of her partner.

Seeing the frightened look the blonde had, Kid got up as well and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. With his free hand, he pointed to the ground.

"He's right there, Maka. He's not going anywhere any time soon." The boy stated, removing his hand from her shoulder.

He then noticed that her usual white shirt and yellow vest were tinted red, and though he couldn't see much behind her shadow of a cloak, he knew that it was blood.

"Again, mind telling me what happened?" He asked, not wanting to mention her injury right away. Besides, Kid knew that within a minute or so, her adrenaline would wear out and she'd begin to feel the pain.

"Fight in the forest," She said as if out of breath, "A weird meister and weapon duo. Soul and the weapon fought, I tried to tackle the mesiter. Then," She hissed suddenly, as if on cue, and placed a hand to her side, "That..." She uttered, dropping to the step she had been standing on.

Soul must have felt his partner's wavelength sizzle in pain, because his eyes snapped open and he let out a small 'Maka' as he gasped for breath.

"Soul!" Both meisters called at once, feeling the sudden burst of energy in his soul.

Ignoring their seemingly worried calls, Soul crawled a few inches over to Maka, before brushing a strand of hair from her face to reveal a small cut on her forehead.

"You're okay," He sighed.

"For the most part, yeah..." She agreed, forcing a smile. However, it disappeared quickly when the stinging sensation in her side started up again. She winced and rapidly placed a hand over the wound, only to stain her white glove with blood.

"Crap, the stab wound! I forgot! Dammit!" Soul swore, grabbing Maka's free hand and hoisting her up.

"Soul, its fine, really!" Maka defended, blushing slightly from having to be helped up, "It's just a scratch."

"Just a scratch?" Kid echoed, surprising them both, "Scythe meister Maka Albarn, that is _not _just a scratch!"

"Exactly!" Soul said in an exaggerated tone.

"Wait, Soul, what about you?" Maka questioned, remembering him lying on the ground less than a moment ago.

"What about me?" He asked, sincerely oblivious to Maka's concerns.

"You were just unconscious, stupid! People don't just randomly pass out!"

Kid watched them in silence; he knew from experience to never get in their way when arguing or being stubborn.

Or caring for each other in their own argumentative, stubborn way.

Soul hesitated a moment, not sure what to say. He knew that if he claimed he was fine, both Maka and Kid would be able to see right through it. However, he refused to let them know how he felt.

It was so unfair. Not to mention uncool.

"Maka," Soul muttered, "You were stabbed. Let's go see Nygus."

Kid quickly cut in.

"Liz and Patti already went to get her," He informed, loosening his shirt's collar slightly, "Is it hot or is that just me?" He asked, trying to change the topic.

Maka didn't pay attention to him as she shut her eyes. She relaxed and concentrated on sensing the souls around her. Opening her eyes, she looked over at Soul, who was by then sitting. She frowned when she saw a heavily damaged soul instead of his usual chipper one.

"Soul, you're hurt." She said simply, sitting down next to him.

"Do I look hurt?" He asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but your soul does."

"Well it can't be helped," He stated with a shrug.

Maka groaned in frustration and jumped up, shocking her partner and friend.

"Come on, you idiot, let's go see Miss Nygus!" She ordered, hands on her hips, "As your meister, I order it!"

Soul cringed. Damn, she _ordered _it? Technically, weapons were supposed to abide by the rules set by their meisters. Soul was no exception—whatever Maka said, went, regardless. End of story.

He didn't budge, however, and after a moment, Maka narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm hurt, you're hurt—can we just go see her?"

"I don't see how I'm involved," Soul admitted, standing up as well, "But whatever. You're right, you got hurt, so we'll go see her."

"For me _and_ you,"

"For you."

"Ugh!"

"Hey, guys," Kid's voice suddenly rang out, temporarily ending their feud, "Here she comes now." He announced, pointing behind them.

Maka and Soul did a 180 to find Nygus, Liz and Patti hurrying down the stairs.

"They're awake, Patti. You said they were unconscious," Nygus pointed out as she approached the trio below them.

"They were!" Patti defended, folding her arms, "Kid must've woken them up!" She added with a pout.

Shaking her head, Nygus walked up to Maka and Soul, briefly checking them over for any obvious injuries. She then told Maka to follow her to the dispensary because of her wound, but she quickly interrupted her.

"Soul needs to see you, too." She informed with newfound determination.

"Oh? Is he hurt?" Nygus asked, having found nothing out of the ordinary from the miniature check up.

"No, Maka's just paranoid." Soul intervened.

Nygus sighed before walking ahead.

"Come on, Maka, Soul is fine. We need to address your wound."

"But Miss Nygus!"

"Go on, Maka, you heard the nurse." Maka's partner teased with a grin, earning mumbles from the meister.

When Nygus and Maka were out of sight, Kid slapped Soul on the cheek, earning a surprised yelp from the white haired weapon.

"What the hell?!" He asked, bringing a hand to his face.

"Idiot, your soul is in horrid condition!" Kid exclaimed, "You need to see Nygus as well!"

"And what exactly is she gonna do?" Soul asked, his pockets attracting his hands to them.

"Help you, silly! That's what she does," Patti explained with a smile.

Soul rolled his eyes and walked off, intending on going to see Maka, but Kid caught up to him as his weapons ran on ahead.

"Soul, you're really not in the greatest condition right now," The reaper admitted, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You should really allow Nygus to check you over."

"Again, what is she going to do?" Soul asked, his tone softer than before, "If it has to do with my soul—which she can't even see by the way—then it's beyond her control. I'll go see Maka and make sure she's alright, and then I'll take it easy at home, okay?" He assured with hard eyes.

Kid swallowed and nodded, but he was not fully convinced. However, he decided to not think much of it—it wasn't like Soul was going to over exert himself by staying at home. What was the worst that could happen there?

And then he remembered Blair, which caused his cheeks to burn a bubblegum pink, forcing him to look away from the weapon beside him.

"I'm trusting you with this, Soul. If you intend on staying true to your word, you may not want to attend classes tomorrow." He added quietly before leaving Soul behind.

_Huh...it's that bad? _

"You can count on that," Soul called.

* * *

"Knock, knock bitches! Black Star's here!"

Great. Just what Maka wanted to hear when she needed to rest.

"Would you please actually knock when you say that?" She spat, facing the blue haired assassin with a glare.

"Someone's edgy!" Black Star joked, ruffling her hair. With a scowl, Maka tried to pry his hands away from her.

"How the hell am I edgy—"

"I heard what happened, Maka! Are you al—hey, where's Soul?" The ninja asked, looking around the room with mock concern.

"Don't know, don't care." Maka replied, patting down her hair where Black Star had mangled it.

"Did something happen?"

_Nothing at all, clearly._

Maka wanted to say that, but decided against it.

"Nope." She replied. Black Star raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her before turning around and crossing his arms, pretending to be upset.

"Then where is he and why do you refuse to tell me?" He asked in a fake distressed voice. Maka sighed and rolled her eyes.

"How can I tell you where he is if I don't know myself?" She argued, not wanting to deal with his nonsense.

"Because you totally know and you're just being stubborn." He replied, craning his neck to take a quick look at her before sticking out his bottom lip and turning to face the wall again.

"I'm not being stubborn."

"Denial!" Black Star countered, spinning around and pointing an accusing finger at her.

Maka didn't want to hear any of Black Star's ramblings. She was not in the mood. Her patience was thinning, and she was sure that if he made one more stupid comment, she'd probably Maka-Chop him to the moon.

"I don't know where he is, Black Star. If I did, I would've told you by now." She said matter-of-factly.

"Well something obviously happened if you don't know where he is." He retorted, growing tired of her apparent lies.

"Why? Am I supposed to know of his whereabouts twenty four seven?"

"Yeah, kinda,"

"Well sorry, but I don't. He could be at home, though. Why do you wanna know so badly?" At the last bit, Maka looked at him with a smirk.

"It's not about where he is, it's about why you _don't _know where he is." He replied without missing a beat, as if he was ready for her to ask.

"You're not making sense."

"Am too!"

To this, Maka's grin quickly faded.

"Don't start that with me, Black Star, I'm not in the mood." She warned him, leaning into the covers of the bed she was in.

"Geez, Maka, why are you so moody?"

"Wha—"

"You know what, never mind, a star like me shouldn't have to put up with this...!" He ran out of the room dramatically, one arm covering his eyes as if he had been crying.

Maka stared at the door in awe. She'd never understand that kid...and she had known him for so long...

* * *

Soul wasn't lying when he said he was going to see Maka and then head home, but he hadn't had the intention of visiting her immediately after his chat with Kid. He paced around the school, wincing every so often when the sun caught his eyes.

Blinded by the bright light more than once, he decided he had enough of the Nevada sun and made his way back to the stairs of the Academy.

When he entered, the first thing he did was glance at one of the many clocks on the walls of the building.

_Half past three. I've seriously been walking around for an hour?_

Sighing, he walked on, mentally noting his destination was right down the hallway.

Grasping the door handle in his palm, he suddenly found himself regretting his decision. What if Maka's wound was more serious than he thought? What if she had lost too much blood? What if she—

"Soul?"

He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he completely forgot about his partner's Soul Perception. Dammit.

Maka cocked her head to the side in thought. She had sensed Soul's presence right outside the door of the infirmary, but he had been standing there for a minute or so. She couldn't exactly read his expressions through only his soul, but she knew that normally, he would have burst in to see her.

"I know you're outside." She pointed out, eyeing the door suspiciously.

He turned the handle slowly, pushing the door open with caution as if expecting the worse.

"Geez, did you fall asleep or something?" She joked with a smile. When she didn't receive a response, she frowned. "What's wrong?"

Again, she was given the silent treatment. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back. When she felt the bed shift weight from another mass, she looked up with worried eyes. Her partner had his hands on either side of him, supporting him on the bed, while his legs dangled off the sides. He was seemingly staring at them, but in fact he was simply hanging his head, not looking at anything in particular.

"Soul..."

He dared a glance at her: her hair was down and she was in her favourite green and yellow striped pajamas. Because she was completely covered, he couldn't see how bad her injury was. He brought his legs up to the cot and twisted his body around so that he was on all fours at the edge of the bed. He crawled to her before sitting on his legs right next to her. With one hand, he lifted her shirt slightly and with the other, he adjusted the blanket over her chest so that she wouldn't have to feel exposed.

Despite the adjustments, Maka felt the blood rush to her face. She felt Soul's cold fingers tracing the dressing on her waist. He was incredibly gentle, and she was wearing quite a thick bandage, but she shivered at his touch nonetheless.

"I'm gonna kill them," He said suddenly, much to Maka's surprise, "I'm going to find them, and kill them."

She knew Soul was protective of her—it was one of the most obvious things about him. However, she still held mental debates inside her mind as to _why_ he was so protective. She'd always come to the conclusion that he had to be because of his weapon status, but sometimes, she found herself wishing that it was a bit more than that.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, bringing his arm to his side to lean on it.

"Not really—not at all, actually. It's kinda dull, like a healing bruise or something." She elaborated truthfully, "Nygus said I only passed out due to shock. I had totally not seen that coming."

"You've never seen anything coming," Soul muttered in response, "And you hardly ever pass out. Maybe once, twice, three times max since I've known you. And all those times, you were pretty beat up, be it physically or mentally."

Maka opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words to say. She shut her lips before opening them once more, only to yet again come up with a blank. She looked like a fish gasping for air as she tried to think of something to comfort her partner.

"I was dehydrated," She quickly added. It wasn't exactly true, but it wasn't a lie, either. Her mouth was so dry, and she could distinctly remember how thirsty she had been during their fight—not just after it, "That plus the shock. My body was under pressure so I guess it kinda just...gave up on me," She explained, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

Soul had never been the one to be skeptical, as it was deemed 'uncool', but if he had to pick one time in his young teen life to think twice about what someone had told him, it would have been that moment.

He sighed before slipping off the bed and stretching. He placed his hands in his pockets and grinned, showing his pointy teeth.

"Whatever you say, Maka. Just hurry up and get better. Last time you were here, Blair was so bored and _I_ had to entertain her."

"Welcome to my world," Maka scoffed, smirking.

Soul walked out, holding his arm up as a brief wave. He quietly shut the door behind him before finally exiting the building.

He brought his hands to the back of his neck as he walked, sighing in relief. Maka was okay. She was hurt, but she was okay.

Did that even make sense?

Of course it did. She was injured, but she was fine.

Through all his thinking, he walked like a robot. He automatically turned on the right streets, stopped at the right lights and passed the correct crosswalks without even noticing.

He was focused on something he wasn't focused on.

Before long, he found himself standing in front of his apartment door. His hands dug through his pants pocket for the keys, and he slipped one of the keys on his chain through the lock of the door, not even bothering to check if it was the right one.

Cursing under his breath when he noticed it was the key to his motorbike, he fumbled for the strap dangling from the inside of his jean pocket and yanked at it, shuffling through the keys in order to find the one he needed to get inside.

Finally, the door obeyed and creaked open, inviting him inside his and Maka's apartment.

He was greeted with the scent of burnt fish.

"Blair, what the hell are you doing?" He questioned, stepping into the home.

"Making you and Maka a snack, mew~!"

Soul sighed, dropping his keys into the bowl by the door.

"Well you can forget one of the portions. Maka's not here."

Blair dropped the pan she was frying her food in and turned to face the weapon.

"Eh?! Why not?" She asked, hopping off the counter. With a cloud of smoke, she was right in front of the boy in her human form. "You didn't do anything stupid, did you, Soul?!"

Making a face, the scythe groaned and pushed her away. He felt the blood rush to his face and turned away quickly, not wanting to cause a nosebleed. Maka would've been proud…

"No." He said simply, walking to his room.

"Then where is she?!" Blair demanded, placing herself between the closed door of Soul's bedroom and its owner.

"At school." He replied, looking away from her.

Technically, he wasn't lying. Maka _was_ at school; he just wasn't being specific.

"Oh…is she studying again?

Soul blinked once, and turned to face the cat. He smirked as he brushed a stray stand of hair from his eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah she is."

"She's gonna work herself sick, mew…" Blair said sadly, releasing her grip on the boy that Soul didn't even know about until then.

"She'll be fine; she's Maka." With that, Soul charged into his room, slamming the door in Blair's face.

"Rude…" She whined, turning on her heel and making her way back to the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: WOWOWOW REALLY LATE AND I SAID I'D GET "A LOT" OF CHAPTERS UP DURING MY MONTH OFF FOR THE HOLIDAYS BUT UM I DIDN'T EVEN UPLOAD ONE WOW ARE YOU GUYS STILL EVEN WANTTING THIS STORY TO CONTINUE?**

**Warning: Okay omg I think you should know by now**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this series okay bklkjrwelkj**

* * *

_Chapter 6: Invisible Soul_

Soul rolled over to his side. He let out a shriek as he tumbled off of his bed and landed on the uncomfortable wooden floor.

"Ow, dammit…" He muttered, picking himself up onto hands and knees. Without looking, he used his hand to rummage the top of his nightstand and grabbed his alarm clock. Bright red lights indicated two in the morning.

He had intended to take a nap when he arrived home, but apparently, his 'nap' lasted a bit longer than he thought it would…

"Shit, I've been asleep for like eight hours…" He sighed before standing up, placing his clock back on the table.

_Why did I even wake up?_

He silently walked out of his room and looked around the corner, half expecting to find his partner in the living room or kitchen.

It was rather quiet; apparently Blair hadn't heard him yelling like a girl and slipping off his bed.

Having nothing else to do, he decided to take a walk outside. He dashed back to his room to grab his jacket and slipped it on before making his way to the front door. He didn't bother locking it behind him as he walked out of the apartment and into the corridor of the building. The second he made it to the stairs and was about to walk down them, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Soul! Soul, where are you going?" It was Blair.

If only he knew the answer to that question.

* * *

Maka tossed and turned, and finally giving up, shot out of bed. She walked over to the window by the chair in the corner of the room and pushed aside the curtains, taking a peek outside.

She felt something wrong.

She had had a horrible dream of her and Soul being beaten by the pair they had met earlier (or was it the day before? She wasn't sure what time it was). She had woken with a start, and failed to fall back asleep, so she had decided to stay awake.

That was when she decided to take a look outside. For some reason, for a split second, she thought she sensed Soul's wavelength.

"But he should be at home…" Maka breathed when she noticed a familiar white haired boy walking up the stairs of the bulding. He couldn't possibly be coming to meet her, could he? He answered her question when he sat on a bench nearby. He didn't seem to have the intention of moving any time soon. What was he doing? Now she'd really never get back to sleep.

* * *

"_Soul! Soul, where are you going?"_

"_Out."_

"_I can see that, stupid. Where to?"_

"_Not really sure."_

"_Where's Maka?"_

"_She's doing some sleep-over thing at school. Maybe I'll go visit her; I'm sure she's still awake."_

"_You never mentioned that…is there something you're hiding, scythey~?"_

"_Is this twenty questions? And there's nothing I'm hiding."_

"_There totally is!"_

"_There totally isn't."_

"_Liar!"_

"_Not lyin'."_

"_Yes you—"_

"_Goodbye, Blair."_

"…_Bye."_

Soul sighed and leaned back in the dark bench he was sitting on. He let his head fall against the neck support and stared at the black sky. He saw the moon smirking at him, as if mocking him.

"Don't look at me like that," He muttered, shutting his eyes.

Of course, he received no response.

He stayed still a few moments before he heard a sound resembling a can being tossed to the ground. His head snapped up and he looked around to find a can slowly rolling and stopping by his feet.

He glanced at it a moment and before he could he begin to wonder what was happening, the can erupted into an explosion of smoke.

"A smoke bomb…!?"

He coughed a bit, waving his arms and trying to rid of the grey fumes.

"Oh, not _just_ a smoke bomb, darlin'."

Soul felt his world start to spin, but he stood up nonetheless, trying to see who had spoken to him.

"And you are?" He asked, squinting through the deadly cloud.

"If I told you right now, it would ruin the fun, wouldn't it? I think I'll save introductions for later." Hearing the voice for a second time, Soul registered that he was speaking to a female.

The weapon fell to the ground on his hands and knees, nearly hacking up a lung as he tried to feed himself oxygen.

"I'd stop all that heaving if I were you." The figure warned, stepping closer to him, "You wouldn't want to breathe more of this than you already have."

"Piss off," Soul managed through clenched teeth.

"That was uncalled for…I haven't even done anything yet." The woman pointed out in a sad tone.

"What do you call this, then?" He was struggling to breathe, now. Might as well get a few last words in. If he was going down, he was going down in _style_. Or, at least, questioning…

"I call it my wavelength. My soul. My aura. It has many names but only one goal: to get rid of any pathetic excuse of a weapon my cousin created!"

The boy's eyes widened in panic. He looked back up at her, hands and knees shaking from exhaustion.

"And you, Soul Eater, are first on the list."

* * *

Maka flipped.

No, literally.

She flipped out of the window, her black cloak sweeping the air behind her. She landed with ease on the ground beneath her exit.

She had changed as quickly as she could, but didn't bother wasting the time to put her hair up. As she ran to the scene taking place in front of her, she sighed every now and then as strands of hair flew into her eyes.

Bringing her hand up to her face once more, she also realized she hadn't slipped on her gloves. Oh well.

"Soul! Soul!" She called out. She immediately stopped running, however, when she came face to face with a strangely tall woman.

"You want him? Here; I'm done with him anyway." She offered, tossing Soul to the ground by Maka's feet. The meister's pupils dilated and she fell to his side and began calling out his name.

"He's completely done for, girl. In fact, any moment now, his soul should give out." She smirked and flicked some of her hair behind her shoulder. "He was pretty fun to drain. Has a tough soul; actually gave me a challenge. Anywho, it's best that I go on my way. I have many other weapons to destroy."

Maka was torn. What was she to do? Was Soul even alive? Was she supposed to follow the weirdo? If Soul was alive, she couldn't leave him by his lonesome; he'd die! But if she stayed with him, who's to say the other weapons in the city weren't in danger?

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Maka demanded, standing. "You're Lady Miiro, aren't you!? The one who's sister we killed?!"

"Oh, so you're responsible for Agnes' death? Should I avenge her…? Hmm, I have a rather busy schedule…"

"Avenge _this_!" Maka screeched, landing a punch square in Miiro's face. "I can't believe you!" She yelled, striking another hit. "You crazy bitch!"

Miiro sighed and stepped aside just as she was about to receive another blow.

"Now, now, there's no need for such language."

"There's no need for your _presence_!" Maka retorted, running up to her. She backhanded Miiro before shoving her heel in her abdomen, knocking the older woman down. The meister breathed heavily and delivered a thrust kick to the woman's side.

Miiro stood up shakily when Maka took a second to breathe.

"Are you just going to keep wasting your energy like this?" She taunted, dragging Maka down by her hair. The younger landed face first on the concrete, reopening her injuries from her fight with Kuso and John. She stood up slowly, feeling pain emitting from her side.

Maka froze and wrapped an arm around her abdomen. She immediately remembered her stab wound and drew back her hand—her palm was caked with blood.

Suddenly, she let out a yell relatively similar to a battle cry and threw a reverse thrust to the enemy. The teen then dodged easily when she got a response to her hit. Miiro grunted when she missed the girl and went in for another hit, only to miss again.

_Damn…this girl is fast…_

"Stop moving, you brat!" She called, moving in closer. She managed to land a punch to Maka's face, immediately causing a nosebleed from the teen.

"Stop living, you bitch!" Maka spat. She charged at Miiro and jumped as high as she could before striking her with the hardest kick she could manage. The older fell to the ground, unmoving. Maka didn't hesitate; she walked up to her pulled her head up by her hair with one hand and smacked her across the face with the other.

_What is up with this girl?! She's so…strong!_

Miiro took more hits as she eyed Soul who was lying on the ground not too far from her and Maka.

_It's the boy. She's avenging the boy._

Maka cried out again and spun Miiro around before shoving her into the cement. She stepped on her head, pushing Miiro's face into the ground.

"I've had enough of this," Maka heard Miiro mumble from the floor. Despite her somewhat drained energy, the meister stood strong. However, when she noticed that Miiro was doing the same, she felt panic rise in her chest. "I'm not even after you, girl! Ugh, do you know how much time you've made me waste?! Now I have to return to my base and fix myself up and—ugh!" She disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Maka alone as she panted.

She then remembered her partner and did a 180 before running to his aid. She crouched down beside him and put his head on her lap.

"Soul?"

Silence

"Soul…"

Nothing.

"Soul!"

Absolutely—

"Wake up, idiot…!"

Nothing.

She took in a deep breath and flinched when this caused her side to burn more.

_I have to save him._

How was she supposed to save him, though?

"Like when the madness took over…" She muttered to herself.

She shook her head; it wouldn't work again. Soul had eaten the little ogre and there was nothing else inside his mind to let her in.

So she sat there for a while, cradling him and mumbling his name every so often.

* * *

Maka guessed it had been a while, because the moon had disappeared, leaving the sun in its place. The sky slowly morphed from a dark black to a pale blue—it was probably around five in the morning.

"Nygus is going to check on me soon!" Maka realized aloud, popping up from the ground. She yanked at her hair and groaned, not knowing what to do. "Dammit, stupid Miiro…"

She looked down at Soul for a second before shutting her eyes and shaking her head. She couldn't leave him there, and there was no way she could bring him inside. However, as if by a miracle, the weapon in question groaned and turned to his side, blinking open his eyes a bit before propping himself up on his elbows.

Maka, alarmed, bent down to help him up but tripped and landed on top of him. She blinked at him but said nothing, and for a second she thought he'd just fall right back to sleep. He then whipped his head back and looked at the sky a second before looking back at her and smirking.

"Why you lookin' at me all weird like that?" He questioned.

Again, Maka stared at him without saying anything. Her shocked expression confused him even more.

"Do I…have something on my face?" Soul questioned, placing a hand on his cheek. Maka shook her head. "My hair is crazy," He patted down his hair a bit, "That's it, isn't it?" Again, Maka indicated that he was wrong. "Then…?"

The meister was about to speak when a yell addressed to her was heard in the distance.

"Where the hell are you?!"

It was Nygus.

Before Maka even thought of replying, she and Soul were joined by the older weapon, who had an angered look on her face.

"So, you snuck out to meet...Soul. And to do..." She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

Maka looked down at herself and then glanced at Soul. She immediately blushed and launched herself off the boy, dusting off her skirt and adjusting her vest. She ran a hand through her hair and threw it behind her shoulders before turning to face the nurse with a grin.

"We weren't doing what you thought we were doing." She said innocently.

"Then why do you have sex hair?"

Soul's eyes widened and he stood up, grabbing Maka's wrist.

"Well, we'd love to stay and chat but," He was about to leave with her when Nygus grabbed the meister's free hand.

"Oh, no. She's gotta rest and she's coming with _me_. Besides, I apparently need to keep an eye on you _both_."

Maka was about to deny, to say that they hadn't had sex, but Soul jumped in.

"Both, you said both, let me come with." He said quickly, shoving past Maka to face Nygus properly.

Maka then stepped in front of her partner just as he had done a moment prior.

"And Soul got hurt last night! He needs rest! I feel his wavelength dying by the second!" To this, Soul glanced at her, a slight hint of confusion in his eyes. He felt fine; what was she talking about? "I know you can't do much-if anything-to help someone's soul, but the least you could do is monitor him like you're doing to me..."

Again, Soul looked at her, this time his eyes firm.

"Maka, what are you talking about?"


End file.
